News

Coal ash bill passes

July 25, 2013

PARKERSBURG - A bill preventing coal ash to be classified as a hazardous waste by the Environmental Protection Agency includes health and safety protections from deficient impoundments, a West Virginia congressman said on Thursday.

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, House Resolution 2218, which Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., a prime sponsor, said was his "signature" piece of legislation since he was elected to Congress.

The legislation includes provisions where companies must maintain and repair leaking impoundments or "shut them down," McKinley said during a press conference with West Virginia reporters from Washington, D.C.